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CAF officially hands Kenya CHAN 2018 hosting mantle

Kenya has officially been handed the mantle to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Kenya’s minister of sports, Hassan Wario, Kenya Football Federation (KFF) president Sam Nyamwenya and Secretary General Michael Esakwa received the CAF flag from CAF boss Issa Hayatou, who is also the acting FIFA president.

“We are very optimistic we will host a good tournament. We are thankful to CAF for this opportunity and the
Kenyan people should give us support as we engage in this task. The job starts immediately and we promise we will be ready by 2018,” Nyamweya told Kenya’s top sports website Soka, after he was handed the mantle.

On Sunday as the CHAN 2016 business closed in Kigali, Almamy Kabele Camara, CAF’s second vice-president was quick to emphasize that the east African country should start preparations to host the event, according to Xinhua.

“We have seen Rwanda host the event so well this year and they have scored so highly and they get grade A for their level of organisation. We call upon Kenya to also start working hard to improve infrastructure which will contribute to a successful competition in 2018,” he said.

Camara also said CHAN 2016 was superb both on-and-off the pitch as the hosts managed to sell 90 percent of the tickets with organisers saying Rwanda spent close to $23 million to host the tournament.